Systems and/or methods of data acquisition from a transceiver

ABSTRACT

Systems and/or Methods are disclosed for acquiring data from a transceiver responsive to one or more signals that are received at the transceiver from one or more devices. In one embodiment, a transceiver is configured to transmit a signal responsive to having received a first signal from a first device, wherein the signal that is transmitted by the transceiver is configured to trigger a second device to transmit a second signal. The transceiver is further configured to transmit data responsive to having received the second signal that is transmitted by the second device. In other embodiments, a transceiver is configured to receive a signal from a first device over frequencies of a predetermined frequency band that the first device is authorized to use, to receive a signal from a second device over frequencies of the predetermined frequency band and to transmit data responsive to having received both the signal from the first device and the signal from the second device. The transceiver is further configured to require that both the signal from the first device and the signal from the second device be received at the transceiver before the data is transmitted. Analogous methods are also disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/753,700, filed Jan. 30, 2013, entitled Systemsand/or Methods of Data Acquisition From a Transceiver, now U.S. Pat. No.8,970,351, which itself is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 12/620,122, filed Nov. 17, 2009, entitled Systems and/or Methods ofData Acquisition From a Transceiver, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,665,068, whichitself is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/855,332,filed Sep. 14, 2007, entitled A Cooperative Vehicular IdentificationSystem, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,642,897, which itself is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/506,365, filed Sep. 2, 2004,entitled A Cooperative Vehicular Identification System, now U.S. Pat.No. 7,286,040, which itself is a 35 U.S.C. §371 national phaseapplication of PCT International Application No. PCT/US03/07770, havingan international filing date of Mar. 13, 2003, which itself claims thebenefit of U.S. provisional Application No. 60/364,303, filed Mar. 14,2002, entitled A Cooperative Vehicular Identification System, thedisclosures of all of which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety. The above PCT International Application was published inthe English language and has International Publication No. WO 03/096128A2.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Violations of motor vehicle laws, such as speeding laws, may become anincreasing concern as highways become more crowded with ever increasingnumbers of vehicles. Electronic systems for monitoring vehicles aredescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,107,917 to Carrender et al., entitledElectronic Tag Including RF Modem for Monitoring Motor VehiclePerformance With Filtering; U.S. Pat. No. 6,124,810 to Segal et al.,entitled Method and Apparatus for Automatic Event Detection in aWireless Communication System; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,223,125 to Hall,entitled Collision Avoidance System.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Cooperative Vehicular Identification Systems and Methods, capable ofmonitoring and recording vehicular law violations, with the assistanceand cooperation of the vehicles in violation, are disclosed. Inaccordance with some embodiments of the invention, real-time informationfrom vehicular sensors is communicated to a Central Processing Unit(CPU). Strategically located Interrogator devices, on roads/highways, atintersections, in and around school zones, integrated with trafficlights, etc., issue inquiries/interrogations to passing-by vehicles.Vehicles proximate to such Interrogators respond with unique identifyinginformation and with parameter lists provided by their vehicularsensors. In some embodiments, each Interrogator inquiry provides data,including the lawful parameter limits (i.e. speed limit) associated withits location. In response to having successfully decoded an inquiry, andin response to the state of its vehicular sensors, a vehicularTransponder may transmit information to the specific Interrogator thathas issued an inquiry. The Interrogator then relays relevant identifyinginformation to the CPU for further processing.

Cooperative Vehicular Identification Systems and Methods according tosome embodiments of the invention, hereinafter referred to as CVIS, mayalso provide a public service to motorists by delivering real-timeroad-specific reports relating to traffic, accidents, weatherconditions, etc. In other embodiments, CVIS may further provide aservice to motorists by delivering store-and-forward messages (e-mail)to and from their vehicles. In other embodiments, CVIS may also serve asa “mobile yellow pages” providing selective, area-specific informationrelevant to leisure, shopping, and/or entertainment activities, inresponse to motorist initiated inquiries. Some embodiments may alsoprovide distress assistance to motorists. Toll collections may behandled very effectively, and some embodiments may even be configured totell you where to find a parking spot as you approach a parking area.

CVIS can pay for itself very quickly with the dollars of vehicular lawviolators. Significant new revenue may be generated for State and Localauthorities since many or every violator can be apprehendedelectronically. CVIS may derive additional revenues from servicesprovided to commerce and/or individuals, or may chose to offer (at leastsome) of its services free of charge as a public service to thecommunity.

Significant business potential exists for industry that may engage inthe development, manufacturing, deployment, maintenance, and upgrades toCVIS. In the United States alone, more than 15 Million (lightweight) newcars are sold each year, and there are more that 200 Million suchvehicles already in operation. There are also more than 40 Million fleetvehicles US-wide. For all of these vehicles to be CVIS compliant,according to some embodiments of the invention, each one may be equippedwith a Transponder. The number of Interrogators that could be deployedUS-wide could exceed tens of thousands.

Following the successful deployment of CVIS in the United States,deployment in other countries may follow.

Besides detecting violations such as speeding, some embodiments of CVISwill also be able to detect events such as not having stopped at a redlight and/or a stop sign, and will be able to search, locate, and tracka vehicle, in response to law enforcement commands, throughout a cityand/or throughout the entire country.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of systems and methods according to variousembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates interrogator packets according tovarious embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates transponder packets according tovarious embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates confirmation packets according tovarious embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 5A and 5B, which together form FIG. 5, schematically illustratenotificator packets according to various embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is a timing diagram illustrating time-frequency plans accordingto various embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a timing diagram illustrating time-frequency plans accordingto various other embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates traffic light notificators according to variousembodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 9A and 9B, which together form FIG. 9, schematically illustratetraffic light notificator packet formats according to variousembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of network interconnected systems and methodsaccording to various embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 1. Introduction and Summary

Embodiments of CVIS described hereinbelow can potentially benefitsociety in significant ways. Some embodiments of CVIS may:

-   -   (1) Save lives (many lives).    -   (2) Reduce significantly the number of vehicular accidents,        minor and major, and the associated injuries, suffering, and        expense/loss in productivity.    -   (3) Stabilize and even reduce car insurance premiums (as a        consequence of (1) & (2) above).    -   (4) Instill a heightened awareness of lawful driving behavior to        the public at-large (thus re-enforcing (1) through (3) above).    -   (5) Be a strong anti-theft deterrent.    -   (6) Offer emergency/distress assistance to motorists.    -   (7) Offer real-time, road-specific, information to motorists as        well as other more general information, for leisure and        recreational activities, including personal messaging.

A focus of CVIS is on strengthening vehicular law enforcement andmitigating irresponsible driving behavior, thus improving safety forpedestrians and drivers alike. Deployment of CVIS can make vehicular lawenforcement automatic, efficient, non-discriminatory, quick,non-intrusive, and/or transparent to the violator and law enforcementagency alike. While being an, instrument of beneficial socialengineering, embodiments of CVIS also can generate significant newrevenues for state/county law-enforcement agencies and can thus pay foritself with the dollars of those who violate the Law. Embodiments ofCVIS may thus be envisioned as a selective tax imposed only on vehicularlaw violators. Other embodiments of CVIS, however, may also generaterevenue by delivering area-specific commercial, leisure, and/orrecreational information to motorists' vehicles. That is, someembodiments of CVIS can be a “mobile yellow pages” for restaurants,cinemas, stores/malls, promotions, etc, as well as a system fordelivering store-and-forward personal messages and/or e-mail to peoplein transit.

To those who will criticize CVIS as being a “Big Brother is Watching”type of a system, we offer this simple response: Driving on public roadsand highways is a necessity of modern life, and is an activity conducteddaily by an overwhelming majority of the adult population. Driving onpublic roads and highways, therefore, is an activity that impacts almostall people daily, either directly or indirectly. Because of its broadreaching affects on society, driving must be conducted responsibly andwithin the guidelines set forth by Law. According to some embodiments ofCVIS, while a driver's activities remain lawful, “Big Brother” is blind.Only when a motorist's actions violate the Law, only then do BigBrother's eyes open to take notice.

We have all witnessed the reckless driver who routinely violates theposted speed limit. We have repeatedly witnessed the careless driver whogoes through stop signs without first making a complete stop. We haveeven seen those who go through red lights in their eagerness to get totheir destinations a few minutes earlier. Many drivers still do not wearseat belts and many more execute turns without bothering to indicatetheir intentions. All these vehicular law violations, and many more,would be noticeable and recordable by some embodiments of CVIS. Eachevent associated with a violation would be recorded at a centralprocessing unit and would also be tagged with the registered identity ofthe vehicle involved, the time-of-day of occurrence, and positioncoordinates of occurrence.

2. Elements

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying figures, in which embodiments of theinvention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in manyalternate forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein.

Accordingly, while the invention is susceptible to various modificationsand alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way ofexample in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. Itshould be understood, however, that there is no intent to limit theinvention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, theinvention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternativesfalling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by theclaims.

An element of some embodiments of CVIS is the Transponder-Interrogatorpair of FIG. 1. The Transponder resides in a vehicle and can thus beclassified as a mobile device. The Interrogator may (or may not) residein a vehicle and thus may (or may not) be a mobile device. Interrogatorsmay be installed in law-enforcement vehicles (police and/or statetrooper vehicles) but, in other embodiments, Interrogators may beinstalled in fixed locations, perhaps on top of light poles and trafficsigns (on the sides of roads and highways), integrated with trafficlights at road intersections, situated close to stop signs,strategically located in and around school zones, and in many otherplaces where vehicular law enforcement is of importance and concern.

As is illustrated in FIG. 1, an in-vehicle Transponder receives inputsfrom a plurality of vehicular sensors (via physical electromechanicalconnections and/or wirelessly). Inputs to the Transponder may be speedof the vehicle, left- and right-turn signal states, odometer reading,GPS receiver data, vehicular theft sensor indications, driver's seatbelt state (on/off), etc. . . . . Inputs to the Transponder may alsoarrive (wirelessly or otherwise) from a man-machine interface that maybe used to pre-condition the Transponder to request certain informationwhen in the proximity of certain Interrogators.¹ Permanently storedwithin a non-volatile memory of each Transponder, will be a uniqueidentifier (ID) of the vehicle associated with that Transponder. ¹ TheTransponder may request local-area commercial information such as, forexample, the three closest (relative to its location) restaurantsoffering French cuisine, or the two closest cinemas with a current listof movies playing, etc. Such information may be provided as a publicservice to motorists by the Local/State transportation authorities overtheir corresponding Interrogator networks. The service can be free ofcharge to the commercial entities being promoted, or a nominal monthlyfee may be charged.

An Interrogator, as shown in FIG. 1, transmits and receives informationto and from the Transponder. In addition, the Interrogator relaysinformation to a centrally located processing unit (computing center)and is also capable of receiving information (from said processing unitand/or other sources). In some embodiments, the Interrogator transmitsinformation to the Central Processing Unit (CPU) and receivesinformation from the CPU or said other sources, in substantially realtime, using, for example, a GSM packet-data protocol such as GPRS (orEDGE). Terrestrial cellular/PCS or satellite-based data/paging networkscan be used to connect the Interrogator to its designated CPU².Dedicated line-of-sight microwave links or other media such as wire orfiber-optical cable may also be used. See, for example, FIG. 10. ² AUS-wide paging network may be used to provide urban and suburbanconnectivity between the plurality of Interrogators and theircorresponding CPUs. Non-time-critical updates of Interrogators by theCPU and the transferring of non-time-critical data to the CPU from thefield devices (Interrogators) may take place during off-peak hours ofthe day and night. In some embodiments, only time-critical updatesshould be scheduled to occur in substantially real time.

3. Monitoring of Vehicular Parameters

Two groups of embodiments that can be used to detect violations ofvehicular law are described below. Following a reading of this section,it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that a number ofcombinations and variations on the embodiments discussed hereinbelow arepossible. Even though this is recognized, we do not attempt to beexhaustive; rather, we chose to be comprehensive and thorough, focusingon two specific embodiments, so that the scope and spirit of thedisclosure can be conveyed fully and unambiguously to one of ordinaryskill in the art.

3.1 First Embodiments The Independent Interrogator

In accordance with first embodiments (the independent Interrogatorconcept) Interrogators are positioned at predetermined locations, alongthe sides of highways and roads, and are configured to transmit aninterrogation periodically, say once every 0.5 seconds.³ VehicleTransponders proximate to such Interrogators (i.e. within listeningrange) may be triggered to provide a response. Even when aninterrogation is reliably received (error free) by a vehicleTransponder, said vehicle Transponder may or may-not be triggered torespond. In some embodiments, the decision to respond may depend on thetype of interrogation message received, requesting a conditional or anunconditional response. In other embodiments, the decision of aTransponder to respond may also depend on whether or not saidTransponder has already responded to the particular Interrogator, withina predetermined elapsed time interval. By suppressing subsequentTransponder responses to the same Interrogator (over a predeterminedtime interval) some embodiments of the invention may eliminate manyredundant Transponder responses (that otherwise may be transmitted) thusreducing the probability of response collisions. ³ In some embodiments,independent Interrogators of the type described in this section may alsobe installed in law-enforcement vehicles.

As has already been noted, an interrogation may request a conditional oran unconditional Transponder response. Subject to the conditionalinterrogation, the Transponder will respond if it is in violation ofsome aspect of the Law. For example, if the driver is not wearinghis/her seat belt, and/or if the vehicle has not passed inspectionwithin the time limit allowed, and/or if the speed limit is beingviolated. Furthermore, if the vehicle has been subjected to unauthorizedusage (has been stolen, as determined by the vehicular sensors), and/orif the vehicle has been reported stolen,⁴ a Transponder response willalso be issued. ⁴ How the vehicle knows that it has been stolen (otherthan detecting unauthorized usage with its own sensors) will bediscussed later.

In some embodiments, each interrogation, whether it is of theconditional or unconditional type, relays a unique Interrogatoridentifier (ID), a measure of the physical coordinates of theInterrogator, the Time of Day (ToD), the lawful speed limit, and mayalso relay additional broadcast information that may be relevant tomotorists proximate to the Interrogator site. FIG. 2 shows additional,illustrative detail regarding an interrogation packet structureaccording to some embodiments of the invention. The Transponder readsthe data contents of the interrogation, correlates said data (e.g. speedlimit) with the actual data (e.g. speed of the vehicle as provided tothe Transponder by the vehicular sensors; see FIG. 1) and decideswhether a response to the received interrogation is warranted. Aresponse to the received interrogation may be initiated based on eitherunacceptable (unlawful) vehicular sensor states and/or any otherviolation-of-the-law, or it may be based on some other condition such asthe need for commercial information or a personal message to bedelivered.

In some embodiments, should the Transponder decide to respond, theresponse will include the vehicle's unique identification number, theToD, position coordinates, the lawful speed limit (as relayed to theTransponder by the Interrogator); the vehicle's actual speed, red light& stop sign flag status (the significance of which will be discussed indetail later); the driver's seat belt status (ON/OFF); inspectionstatus; theft status; and/or driver's distress status (see FIG. 3). TheTransponder response may also contain an inquiry requesting from theInterrogator certain local-area information. The Transponder responsemay also indicate the presence of a message to be delivered (from thevehicle to some destination; see FIG. 3). The driver's distress status,when activated (either manually or by voice command) will serve toautomatically notify the authorities that the vehicle is in distress.The authorities will be able to identify the distressed vehicle'slocation by the unique ID and position coordinates of the Interrogatorrelaying the distress message to the CPU. From that point on, someembodiments of CVIS could track the vehicle as it encounters successiveInterrogator sites. There could even be specially marked areas, on thesides of roads and highways, equipped with Interrogators that include,for example, Bluetooth-based and/or other wireless audio/video means.Such Interrogators, when triggered by a vehicle's distress message couldoffer audio/video connectivity between said vehicle and the authorities.The Transponder may also be equipped with the appropriate audio/videointerface.⁵ ⁵ The vehicle in distress also may need to pull over intosuch a specially marked area and stop in the proximity of theInterrogator to establish connectivity.

In other embodiments, if a Transponder decides to send a response to aninterrogation because there is some aspect of the law that has beenviolated, the response will also be stored locally within theTransponder. In addition to keeping a local copy of its response, theTransponder may also store a digital image and/or other characteristicof the driver.⁶ Given that the Transponder's response is receivedreliably by the Interrogator (as determined, for example, by a CRC fieldand/or other error checking) the Interrogator will copy said Transponderresponse in memory and will send a confirmation to the issuingTransponder (see FIG. 4). The Transponder, upon receipt of theconfirmation, will store the data contents of its confirmed response innon-volatile memory as a “permanent record” of the violation event. Allparameters in violation will be stored, together with the time-of-day,lawful speed limit, and position coordinates associated with theviolation (the position coordinates associated with the violation, thetime-of-day, and the lawful speed limit are those relayed to theTransponder by the Interrogator). As part of this permanent record, thedigital image and/or said other characteristic of the driver will alsobe stored. From this time on, in some embodiments, the Transponder mayignore all subsequent interrogations that may be received from the sameInterrogator over a predetermined time interval. ⁶ Means of generatingsuch an image may be provided as part of the overall Transponderinstrumentation. Other means such as those that would “sniff” thein-vehicle air for alcohol content may also be provided.

In other embodiments, in the case of an unconditional interrogation, thevehicle is obliged to respond whether it is in violation of the law ornot. No permanent record is kept by the Transponder (per the abovediscussion) unless the vehicle happens to be in violation of some aspectof the law. This mode of Transponder response, to the unconditionalinterrogation, may be used in places where the authorities desire togather statistics on parameters such as the number of vehicles passingby a particular location at different times of the day, the distributionof speed at that location, the types of vehicles (private cars, taxis,trucks, etc.) passing by that location, etc. . . . . As with theTransponder response to a conditional interrogation, here too, aconfirmation by the Interrogator is sent to each responding Transponderin some embodiments. This may be done to silence the Transponder fromresponding to subsequent interrogations that may be received from thesame Interrogator over a predetermined time interval.

3.2 The Concept of Notificators Second Embodiments The DependentInterrogator

In accordance with second embodiments of the invention, the Interrogatordoes not transmit unless it is triggered by a near-by Transponder whoseassociated vehicle is in violation of some aspect of the law, or indistress, or needs to receive or transmit information. Some embodiments,may work as follows: Each road containing Interrogators also containsother devices referred to as Notificators. A Notificator is atransmit-only device that relays information to near-by (passing-by)vehicles. The Notificator does not receive information from vehicles,only transmits to them. In some embodiments, the Notificator, however,can be configured to communicate bi-directionally with the CPU. TheNotificator will periodically transmit its coordinates, ToD, and thelawful (posted) speed limit for its location, and may also be enabled totransmit other information such as road conditions, traffic reports,accident reports, weather bulletins, etc. In other embodiments, theNotificator may also be configured to transmit a “you have been stolen”message which would be aimed at specific vehicles that have beenreported stolen.⁷ ⁷ Imagine a very sophisticated thief who manages tosteal a vehicle without triggering any of the unauthorized use (theft)sensors of the vehicle. When the owner of said stolen vehicle becomesaware of the fact and notifies the authorities, the authorities cancommand all Notificators in the area (via the CPU) to start transmittingthe “you have been stolen” message, accompanied by the stolen vehicle'sunique ID. When the stolen vehicle's Transponder receives thenotification, it will identify itself as stolen at the next Interrogatorsite (together with position coordinates) thus notifying the authoritiesof its whereabouts.

We return now to describe how Interrogators may be triggered tointerrogate in accordance with some embodiments of the invention. When aTransponder has received information from a Notificator and saidTransponder decides that, based on the received information, it isengaged in some unlawful activity, the Transponder begins toperiodically broadcast a message. The Transponder broadcasts (at sayfrequency f_(i)) its unique vehicle ID and the Notificator'scoordinates, pseudo-randomly changing the carrier frequency f_(i) frombroadcast to broadcast. The Transponder broadcasts and then listens;broadcasts and then listens; in a time division duplex fashion, bothbroadcasting and listening at Each Interrogator listens to all possibleTransponder broadcast frequencies f_(i) (i=1, 2, . . . , L−1, L). Hence,when an Interrogator hears a Transponder's broadcast, the Interrogatorresponds by interrogating the specific Transponder whose broadcast ithas just heard. The interrogation is transmitted at carrier frequencywhile the Transponder is still listening at f_(i).

Embodiments of an Interrogator packet format are illustrated in FIG. 2.Embodiments of the Transponder response are illustrated in FIG. 3.Embodiments of the confirmation by the Interrogator to the Transponderare shown in FIG. 4. In some embodiments, all this exchange occurs atthe same frequency f_(i); the frequency at which the Interrogator wastriggered by the Transponder to interrogate. This, however, need not bethe case. For example, the Interrogator, having been triggered tointerrogate at f_(i), could include in its interrogation a commandinstructing the Transponder to reply at f_(j) (f_(i)≠f_(j)).Alternatively, the Interrogator can be told, via the broadcast messagethat triggers it, to interrogate at f_(k) (f_(k)≠f_(i)≠f_(j)) etc. Whenthe above exchange of information between Transponder and Interrogatoris complete (as indicated by the confirmation to the Transponder by theInterrogator) the Transponder ceases all further transmissions of itsbroadcast until it is once again triggered by some other Notificator. Insome embodiments, the Transponder broadcasts will not cease, however, ifthey are caused by a vehicle theft condition. If the Transponder'sbroadcasts relate to a stolen vehicle state, the broadcasts willcontinue to facilitate vehicle tracking as said vehicle travels fromInterrogator site to Interrogator site.

According to some embodiments, one reason for including theNotificator's coordinates in the Transponder's broadcast message, is toreduce or preclude the possibility of having vehicles wrongly accused ofviolating the speed limit. One can imagine, for example, a vehicle on ahighway violating the speed limit by going 75 mph while the posted speedlimit is 55 mph. Let's assume that said vehicle is broadcasting, andimagine a location where the highway and a city road come very closetogether. Furthermore, let's assume that, due to an engineeringoversight or other reason, an Interrogator situated on the city road (atthe point where the city road and the highway come close to each other)can hear broadcasts of vehicle Transponders traveling on the highway. Bydeciphering the broadcast message, and reading the Notificator'scoordinates, the road Interrogator can ignore all highway vehiclebroadcasts (even though some aspect of the law has been violated) sincethe Notificator's coordinates make it clear that said broadcasts relateto vehicles on an other road/highway and, hence, will be handled byInterrogators on said other road/highway. Similarly, if due to someimproper installation/calibration of a Notificator or other reason, itsradiated signals are heard by Transponders on roads/highways other thanthe intended one, Interrogators on said “other than the intended one”route will ignore any broadcasts initiated by said Transponders. Failureto correlate between the Notificator's “coordinates”, as relayed by theTransponder's broadcast, and those of the listening Interrogator, caninhibit triggering the Interrogator to interrogate⁸. ⁸ It should beunderstood that the term “coordinates” is used throughout this documentin a very liberal sense. In some embodiments, the term coordinates isnot used with geometrical rigor to specify a precise point in space;rather, it is used to specify a particular road/highway and in somecases a specific location on said road/highway (e.g. route 495 betweenexits 50 and 51). It is envisaged that Notificators and Interrogatorsbelonging to the same road/highway will be positioned close to eachother (may even be co-located, or even physically integrated onto oneassembly). As such, the “coordinates” relayed by a Transponder broadcastshould always correlate, at least with regard to the specifiedroad/highway, with the coordinates of an Interrogator hearing thebroadcast. In other embodiments, precise geometrical coordinates may beused.

In some embodiments, Notificators frequency-hop from one notificationmessage to the next in order to comply with regulatory requirements ofthe unlicensed-frequency Instrumentation, Scientific and Medical (ISM)band. Each notification message is repeated at each transponderlistening frequency f_(i); i=1, 2, . . . , L. Preferably, the L repeatsof each notification should occur over a short period of time (e.g.,within 500 ms or less). In some embodiments, transponders do not haveany timing or frequency-hop pattern information relative toNotificators. A Transponder simply tunes its receiver to a frequency,randomly selected from the set {f_(i); i=1, 2, . . . , L}, and listens.FIG. 5 a illustrates how the frame format for a Notificator packet maybe configured. As can be seen from the Figure, the notification packetrelays ToD, position coordinates, lawful speed limit information, aswell as road conditions information. The road conditions information maybe anything that the authorities deem important for motorists such asaccident reports, congestion reports, slippery road conditions, weatherreports, etc. . . . In addition to the above, the notification packetmay also contain stolen vehicle information. As shown on FIG. 5 a, up toJ stolen vehicle IDs may be broadcast. In some embodiments, what limitsthe value of J is the constraint that within 500 msec (or so) theNotificator is able to repeat the notification packet L times. Hence,when the stolen vehicles list exceeds the limits set forth by the aboverequirement, a longer notification message may be created spanningseveral hops. Each frequency-hopped notification message segment canreveal the next hop frequency at which the message is to be continued(see FIG. 5 b) so that the Transponder can follow the hopping pattern ofthe Notificator. Thus, the Transponder may be able to read the entirestolen vehicles list.⁹ However, there is one additional issue regardingrelatively long Notificator messages: The vehicle may need to be movingrelatively slowly or be stationary in order to hear the entire message.If the vehicle is in relative fast motion, it may find itselfout-of-range of the Notificator before the entire message has beentransmitted. This issue is the topic of the next section. ⁹ Alternativeembodiments use a Direct Sequence, Spread-Spectrum Notificator mode, anda corresponding Transponder receiver demodulator, so that relativelylong Notificator messages can be transmitted over a predetermined(non-frequency-hopped) channel.

3.2.1 Special Purpose Notificators at Stop Lights

Special Purpose Notificators may be strategically positioned in theproximity of traffic lights. Such Notificators may contain lists ofreported stolen vehicles (as relayed to them by the CPU) and maybroadcast such lists periodically. The placement of Notificators in theproximity of traffic lights can offer advantages to the system. As atraffic light turns red, most vehicles (even those in the possession ofthieves) stop. The (relatively long) time interval over which vehiclesremain stationary at traffic lights allows the Notificator to transmit asignificantly longer stolen vehicles list than it could otherwise beable to. As a result, the probability that a stolen vehicle will hearthe message “you have been stolen”, as relayed to it, for example, via abroadcast of its unique vehicle ID, is increased. Once a stolen vehiclereceives the notification that it has been stolen, its “theft status”flag is raised, thus triggering the vehicle to start broadcasting, asalready discussed, in accordance with the second embodiments.

The frame format configuration for this relatively long message may beas shown on FIG. 5 b. The entire message may include many segmentssimilar to the one illustrated on FIG. 5 b. Each message segment may beidentical in form to the previous one but this is not necessary. Forexample, in some embodiments, the ToD and position coordinates may beomitted following the first message segment, but if a vehicle startslistening to the message after the first segment, that vehicle would bein the dark regarding ToD and position (unless of course it waitedlong-enough to hear the beginning of the message). Another alternativeembodiment may include ToD and position coordinates intermittently, sayonce every 10 message segments.

At the beginning of the “stolen vehicles list” notification message andintermittently thereafter, the message segment may be repeated on allTransponder listening frequencies in order to get all proximateTransponders to track the message (to follow the frequency-hoppingpattern)¹⁰. By doing so, all Transponders in the vicinity of the SpecialPurpose Notificator can receive a message segment which reveals thevalue of the next hop frequency at which the message is to be continued.¹⁰ As will be described later, when the Special Purpose Notificator isco-located with Traffic Light State Notificators, this may not benecessary.

4. Time-Frequency Plan First Embodiments

In some embodiments, an Interrogator sequentially transmits itsinterrogation on all possible frequencies (f₁ through f_(L)) thatTransponders may be listening to. FIG. 6 illustrates a time-frequencyplan according to some embodiments. The entire interrogation packet (asillustrated on FIG. 2) is first transmitted on f₁, followed byretransmission on f₂, then on f₃, and continuing on until the sameinterrogation packet has been transmitted on all Transponder listeningfrequencies. Each Transponder randomly selects a frequency to listen tofrom the a priori stored set {f₁ through f_(L)}. When a Transponderreceives the interrogation packet and decides to respond (either basedon some violation of the law criterion, a distress state, or because theinterrogation is of the unconditional type, etc.) the Transponderrandomly selects one out of the N available time slots (see FIG. 6)within which to send its response. In some embodiments, N is a numberbetween 16 and 32. Generally, the larger N is, the smaller theprobability becomes that responses will collide. For example, assume 100vehicles near an Interrogator, able to detect interrogations, and saythat 10 of these are in violation of the law. Furthermore, assume thatthe Transponders of these 100 vehicles are uniformly distributed overthe listening frequency set. With N orthogonal time slots per listeningfrequency, the probability of a response collision is 10/LN. With L=20and N=16, the probability of a Transponder response collision becomes (10/320)= 1/32, for this example. Setting N=32, makes the aboveprobability become 1/64. In the event of a collision, the Interrogatorwill (most likely) not recognize any response (over the time slot wherethe collision occurred) and will, therefore, not transmit aconfirmation. Thus, the Transponders involved in the collision willcontinue to respond to subsequent interrogations.

In some embodiments, all Transponder responses that are received errorfree by the relevant Interrogator are acknowledged via a confirmation tothe issuing Transponder. As illustrated on FIG. 6, there are fourTransponder responses over frequency f₁, on time slots 1, 3, 6, and 7,respectively. Following the last interrogation repeat (at frequencyf_(L)) the Interrogator goes back to f₁ to acknowledge the four receivedTransponder responses. Then, the Interrogator jumps to f₂ to acknowledgethe six Transponder responses there. Following f₂, f₃ is served, andso-on, all the way down to f_(L). In serving acknowledgements on any oneof the frequencies f_(i) (1≦i≦L) the Interrogator stays on f_(i) for alength of time equal to what would be needed if the Interrogator had toserve N acknowledgements, even though less than N acknowledgements willtypically be required. After this length of time, the Interrogator moveson to f_(i+1) to serve the acknowledgements there, and stays on f+_(i+1)for a length of time equal to the maximum that would be required for theInterrogator to serve the maximum of N confirmations.¹¹ Theseembodiments can maintain invariant time-line relationships betweenevents occurring over the plurality of frequencies f₁ through f_(L).Other embodiments, however, are possible where the Interrogator servesthe acknowledgements at a given frequency immediately following thereceived Transponder responds at that frequency. Following the last setof acknowledgements at frequency f_(L), the Interrogator returns to f₁and the process starts all over again with the Interrogator issuing itsinterrogation sequentially over the entire frequency set¹². ¹¹ The termsconfirmation and acknowledgement are being used interchangeably.¹² Itmay be desirable for the period of the process to be confined to 500msec. In some embodiments, this can assure that even when traveling atrelatively high speeds, vehicles will have ample time to hear andrespond to interrogations. The 500 msec target can be met by a systemwhose over-the-air transmission rate is about 1 Mbps or more.Preliminary calculations regarding packet lengths indicate that theinterrogation packet can be bounded by about 5,800 bits before ForwardError Coding (FEC) resulting in about a 10,000-bit packet after FEC isapplied. The Transponder packet is bounded by about 810 bits (beforeFEC) resulting in about a 2,000-bit packet following FEC overhead.

Note that the frequencies f₁, f₂, . . . , f_(L) need not representcontiguous values or values that are monotonically increasing.Furthermore, the Time Division Duplex Multiplexing (TDDM) approach,regarding the Interrogator/Transponder exchange, as discussed above andillustrated on FIG. 6, may be replaced with a Code Division Multiplexing(CDM) methodology where instead of time, code orthogonality is reliedupon to separate Transponder responses at the Interrogator receiver.Still further embodiments use Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM)whereby frequency orthogonality is used in lieu of either TDDM or COM.In addition to the above, other combinations and/or variations ofmultiplexing schemes as well as other time-frequency relationships thatare within the scope and spirit of what has been disclosed hereinabove,will occur to those skilled in the art. For example, in accordance withthe TDDM approach of FIG. 6, instead of waiting for all Transponderresponses (at a given f_(i)) to first arrive at the Interrogator beforetransmitting confirmations, embodiments whereby acknowledgements(confirmations) are transmitted by the Interrogator immediatelyfollowing the receipt of a Transponder's response may be implemented.

5. Time-Frequency Plan Second Embodiments

As has been stated earlier, in accordance with the second embodiments,shortly after a Transponder is triggered by a Notificator to startbroadcasting, said Transponder pseudo-randomly selects a frequency fromthe set {f_(i); i=1, 2, . . . , L} and begins to transmit identifyinginformation over said frequency. The Transponder broadcast burst istransmitted periodically (for example, once every 500 msec) until anInterrogator is triggered to interrogate. As illustrated in FIG. 7, whenan Interrogator is triggered, the Interrogator/Transponder exchangefollowed by the Interrogator confirmation takes place, at the end ofwhich the Transponder's periodic broadcast sequence may end. FIG. 7illustrates a time lag between the Transponder broadcast that triggersthe Interrogator and the interrogation itself. This is intended toillustrate that the Interrogator may be busy serving other broadcastsand/or is busy with other time-critical functions.

6. Transponder Options for Changing Transmit and Receive Frequencies

In accordance with the second embodiments, it has already been statedthat the Transponder, once triggered to start broadcasting,pseudo-randomly (and in some embodiments, uniformly and with no biasover the available frequency set) changes transmit/receive frequencyonce per broadcast interval (at least once about every 500 msec). Whenthe Transponder is not in the broadcast mode, it randomly (and in someembodiments uniformly) selects a frequency from the set {f_(i); i=1, 2,. . . , L} to listen to. The Transponder stays at the chosen frequency,and continues to listen for Notificator messages until a Notificatormessage and some violation of the law and/or a distress state and/or theTransponder's desire to transmit or receive information, triggers saidTransponder once again into the broadcast mode.

In accordance with the first embodiments, each Transponder can beconfigured so that in response to each received interrogationconfirmation message the Transponder hops pseudo-randomly (andpreferably uniformly) to a new frequency Consequently, even if allTransponders at the time of manufacturing and/or installation areinitialized to a common receive/transmit frequency f₀,

: f₀ε{f₁, f₂, . . . f_(L)}, offenders would soon be randomized.Alternative embodiments may entail assigning, in a pseudo-randomfashion, at the time of manufacturing and/or installation, areceive/transmit frequency to each Transponder, which the Transponderthen maintains ad infinitum. Variations of the two embodiments may alsobe used.

7. The Traffic Light Notificator Set

We have already described how embodiments of CVIS may be used toidentify and record various driving violations such as exceeding of thespeed limit, the driver not having engaged the seat belt mechanism,operating a vehicle with expired inspection status, driving a stolenvehicle, etc. We have also described how embodiments of CVIS can serveas a safety net for drivers in distress and how embodiments of CVIS canprovide other services and information to motorists. In this section, wedescribe other embodiments of CVIS—the ability of embodiments of CVIS todetect traffic light and stop sign violations. Not honoring a trafficlight (i.e., not stopping at a red light) may be one of the mostdangerous behavior patterns that a driver can engage in.

FIG. 8 illustrates a set of traffic lights at an intersection accordingto some embodiments of the invention. The Traffic Light Set shown onFIG. 8 is labeled as “Traffic Light Set A” to distinguish it from otherpossible Traffic Light Sets that may exist at the same intersection.Typically, up to four Traffic Light Sets may exist at an intersection.Also shown on FIG. 8 is an “Approaching Traffic Light Set ANotificator”. This Approaching Traffic Light Set A Notificator isstrategically located such that vehicles traveling towards Traffic LightSet A will first encounter said Approaching Traffic Light Set ANotificator. After a vehicle has traveled beyond Traffic Light Set A,whether it has continued straight-ahead or has made a turn (left orright) the vehicle will encounter an Interrogator. Only one suchInterrogator is shown on FIG. 8 (the one that will be encountered shouldthe vehicle decide to continue straight-ahead beyond the Traffic LightSet A). Thus, a Traffic Light Set that is equipped with Traffic LightState Notificators and/or with a Stolen Vehicles List Notificator, will(from the point of view of an approaching vehicle) be preceded by anApproaching Traffic Light Set Notificator and will be followed by anInterrogator, irrespective of the direction of said vehicle beyond saidTraffic Light Set.

FIG. 8 also illustrates that each individual Traffic Light Assembly(responsible for managing traffic in some specific direction; straightahead, left, or right) may have associated with it a Traffic Light StateNotificator according to some embodiments of the invention. Informationfrom each Traffic Light Assembly is sent (via physical connection orwirelessly) to the corresponding Traffic Light State Notificator.Information may also be transmitted from the one Traffic Light StateNotificator designated as the Master, to the other Traffic Light StateNotificator(s) that are associated with the same Traffic Light Set andare designated as Slave(s). Information from the Master may also betransmitted to the Stolen Vehicles List Notificator associated with thesame Traffic Light Set (also designated as a Slave on FIG. 8). In,general, information may flow bi-directionally throughout the chain ofTraffic Light Set Notificators, from any Notificator to any other, asshown on FIG. 8. Information may also flow from a Notificator that isassociated with a particular Traffic Light Set to at least one TrafficLight Assembly associated with said Traffic Light Set.

As noted earlier, according to some embodiments of the presentinvention, a vehicle approaching Traffic Light Set A will firstencounter the Approaching Traffic Light Set A Notificator. TheApproaching Traffic Light Set A Notificator informs the vehicle that itis about to enter the listening range of a possible plurality of TrafficLight Sets, but it is only to listen and pay attention to transmissions(notifications) originating from Notificators of Traffic Light Set A.The Approaching Traffic Light Set A Notificator also informs the vehicleof the Transponder listening frequencies corresponding to Traffic LightSet A (chosen so as to maintain orthogonality between the transmissionsof the plurality of Notificator sets corresponding to a plurality ofTraffic Light Sets that may be proximate at an intersection). TheApproaching Traffic Light Set A Notificator transmits its notificationperiodically (say once every 500 msec) repeating said notification onall Transponder listening frequencies within the repetition interval(within the 500 msec). An illustrative packet format for the ApproachingTraffic Light Set Notificator is shown in FIG. 9 a.

In some embodiments, each Traffic Light State Notificator periodicallytransmits a notification informing Transponders of its associatedTraffic Light Assembly state. The Traffic Light State Notificatorreceives information regarding the state of its corresponding TrafficLight Assembly, for example, from the corresponding Traffic LightAssembly itself (see FIG. 8). As with all Notificators, the TrafficLight State Notificator will repeat its notification on all Transponderlistening frequencies (within a predetermined time interval) so that allvehicle Transponders within listening range can be notified. Anillustrative packet format for the Traffic Light State Notificator isshown in FIG. 9 b. An intercepting Transponder first correlates theinformation that it has received from the Approaching Traffic Light SetNotificator with the Traffic Light Set ID field in the Traffic LightState Notificator packet. If a match is found, the Transponder copiesthe Traffic Light Assembly ID, ToD, position coordinates, and trafficlight state fields found within the Traffic Light State Notificatorpacket. The Transponder will keep separate records of traffic lightstate notifications corresponding to different Traffic Light AssemblyIDs. These separate records will be updated in ToD and Traffic LightState as new notifications with correlating Traffic Light Assembly IDsarrive with new parameters in said corresponding ToD and Traffic LightState fields.

Frequency coordination between the Stolen Vehicles List Notificator andthe Traffic Light State Notificator(s) associated with a particularTraffic Light Set, such as the Traffic Light Set shown on FIG. 8 nowwill be described according to some embodiments of the invention. Someembodiments of the invention may avoid collisions between thetransmissions of the plurality of Notificators that may be associatedwith the plurality of Traffic Light Sets that may be situated at a givenintersection. This may be accomplished as follows: At each intersection,each Traffic Light Set (A, B, C, D) may be assigned a differentorthogonal subset of frequencies for its corresponding Notificators touse. Thus, upon notification by the Approaching Traffic Light SetNotificator, a Transponder may select a frequency from said assignedsubset of frequencies to listen to while ignoring all other frequenciesthat may be associated with other proximate Traffic Light Sets. This canguarantee frequency orthogonality between the emissions of a pluralityof Notificators corresponding to a plurality of Traffic Light Sets thatmay be situated in close proximity at an intersection, and can allow theplurality of Notificators corresponding to different proximate Trafficlight Sets to operate independent of each other, without the need forsynchronization, while still avoiding collisions.

In accordance with some embodiments of the invention as illustrated inFIG. 8, one Traffic Light State Notificator per Traffic Light Set may bedesignated as a “Master”. The Master may transmit its notificationpseudo-randomly over the entire designated frequency sub-band whilekeeping all other Notificators inhibited. When the Master has deliveredits notification over all associated frequencies (thus capturing allproximate Transponders) the Master then sequentially activates the otherTraffic Light State Notificators, designated as Slaves, to deliver theirnotifications at frequencies that have been pseudo-randomly chosen bythe Master. In some embodiments, the Master, besides dictating the hopfrequencies of the Slaves, transmits via its notification to theTransponders the frequency to be transmitted by the next-in-lineNotificator. Each Slave Notificator via its notification packet alsoinforms the Transponders regarding the frequency to be used by thenext-in-line Slave Notificator. Thus, in some embodiments, the MasterNotificator is the only Traffic Light Set Notificator that needs toperform “capturing” of Transponders by repeating the notification on allfrequencies. The above time-frequency coordination embodiments, besidesavoiding collisions between the transmissions of the plurality ofNotificators that may be associated with a given Traffic Light Set, mayalso “capture” Transponders (following the first “hit” by the Master) sothat notifications may be heard, thereafter, by such capturedTransponders on first transmission.

In some embodiments, the Interrogators following a Traffic Light Set canbe of either type—Independent or Dependent. First, assume thatInterrogators of the Independent type follow Traffic Light Sets. If avehicle travels straight-ahead past a Traffic Light Set, and uponinterrogation presents a Red Traffic Light State response (within theTraffic Light Assembly S field; see FIG. 3) then that vehicle isidentified as having violated the straight-ahead stop light signal. If avehicle makes a left turn following the Traffic Light Set and uponinterrogation presents a Red Traffic Light State response (within theTraffic Light Assembly L field; see FIG. 3) then that vehicle isidentified as having violated the left-turn stop light signal. If avehicle makes a right turn following the Traffic Light Set, and there isno specific right turn Traffic Light Assembly (as is quite often thecase) the Interrogator will look for either a Green Traffic Light Statewithin the Traffic Light Assembly S field, or a full stop indication andRight Turn Permitted on Red validation¹³. The “Right Turn Permitted onRed” state (either YES or NO) may be provided by either the TrafficLight State Notificator associated with the right-turn Traffic LightAssembly (if present) or by another Traffic Light State Notificatorbelonging to the same Traffic Light Set. ¹³ In some embodiments, inestablishing the severity of a violation when a turn is involved, theright- or left-turn blinker state may also be examined by theInterrogator. That is, having made a legal left turn but without havingindicated your intention to do so, is a small (relatively speaking)violation. However, the driver's profile may be updated, even inresponse to minor violations, and the driver's long-term record may thusbe established. This type of data may be an input for insurancecompanies in setting rates for individuals.

In accordance with the second embodiments, and in addition to all otherembodiments already discussed with respect to said second embodiments,Transponders may be configured such as a non-zero vehicular velocity inconjunction with straight-ahead motion and a Red Traffic Light Statefrom a corresponding (straight-ahead) Traffic Light Assembly willtrigger Transponder broadcasts. Transponders may also be configured sothat vehicular motion in conjunction with having made a left turn and aRed Traffic Light State from the corresponding left turn Traffic LightAssembly will also trigger Transponder broadcasts, etc. . . .

The notion of having associated a Traffic Light State Notificator witheach Traffic Light Assembly (see FIG. 8) raises the prospect of adaptiveoptimal traffic control, according to some embodiments of the invention.In response to the “state” of traffic (i.e., volume and average speed oftraffic moving in a certain direction) the CPU may send Traffic LightAssembly control commands to certain select Traffic State Notificators.As is illustrated on FIG. 8, the bi-directional signal path between aTraffic Light State Notificator and the associated Traffic LightAssembly may be used to relay the information received by the TrafficLight State Notificator from the CPU to the corresponding Traffic LightAssembly. Said information may change, for example, the time intervalsthat the Traffic Light Assembly spends on Green and Red. As such,traffic flow may be altered.

In some embodiments, the CPU may ascertain, in substantially real time,the current traffic state (over a geographic area) from a plurality ofInterrogators. In response to the current traffic state, the desiredtraffic state, and the state of a plurality of Traffic Light Assemblies,the CPU may execute an optimization algorithm (e.g., Kalman-based) todetermine the optimum set of parameters for said plurality of TrafficLight Assemblies so as to optimally bring about the desired trafficstate. Optimal and (nearly) real-time adaptive feedback control of thetraffic state may thus be performed by the CPU.

8. The Stop Sign Notificator

In accordance with these embodiments, a Transponder is notified by aNotificator that it is approaching a stop sign (or that it has justpassed by a stop sign). As such, the vehicle associated with thenotified Transponder is expected to execute (or to have executed) acomplete stop at the stop sign. Thus, in response to such anotification, the vehicle's velocity is examined over a time interval(±τ) about the notification. If a zero velocity reading is found, thevehicle has obeyed the letter of the Law and has stopped at the stopsign; if not, the vehicle is in violation. If the vehicle has not made acomplete stop, other questions such as did the vehicle slow down, and ifyes by how much, may be asked.

9. The “HHTL” and the “HHTR”

The Hand-Held Transponder Loader (HHTL) and the Hand-Held TransponderRetriever (HHTR) are devices that input and output, respectively,information to/from the Transponder according to some embodiments of thepresent invention. The exchange of information between a HHTL and aTransponder or a HHTR and a Transponder preferably takes placewirelessly. The HHTL may be, for example, used by an Inspection Stationto update the contents of a particular Transponder following aninspection of the vehicle associated with said Transponder. The HHTL mayalso be used to load into a Transponder a plurality of images, eachreflecting characteristics of an authorized driver, so that in the eventof a violation, correlations between the driver's “image” and the apriori stored images may be performed locally (within the Transponder).These embodiments can reduce or minimize the amount of data that wouldneed to be relayed to the CPU. The HHTL may also be used by the MotorVehicles Department to periodically load data into Transponders.

In some embodiments, the HHTR may be a portable device that may be usedto (wirelessly) extract the records of drivers from Transponders. Lawenforcement officials and insurance company agents, for example, may beusers of HHTRs. The HHTR may also be equipped with means to deleteTransponder records in response to specific input instruction.

10. Other Embodiments 10.1 Ensembles of ShippingContainers/Transportable Vehicles

According to other embodiments of the invention, shipping containers, orany other ensemble of transportable vehicles, may be equipped withTransponders. Each Transponder may be configured to accept inputs fromone or more sensors of a container/transportable vehicle unit, relatingto, for example, the contents of the container/transportable vehicleunit, its environmental state, whether the unit has been opened (andwhen) since it left a particular origin, etc. . . . , and may keep arecord of such sensory inputs. At a particular destination (aloading/unloading dock) an Interrogator may be used to survey theensemble of such container/transportable vehicle units.

In order to conserve battery life (if the Transponder of acontainer/transportable vehicle unit is operating on battery power) theTransponder may be configured to have a sleep mode whereby it may, forexample, sleep for 1 sec., and then wake-up to listen and take sensorreadings for 10 msec. If during the listening interval the Transponderdetects a “presence signal” of an Interrogator, the Transponder mayremain awake in order to read the interrogation message content andrespond with unique identifying information. The Transponder may alsorelay to the Interrogator the contents of its record (a measure of itssensory inputs). Following the Transponder's response to theinterrogation, and following a confirmation of reception sent to theTransponder by the Interrogator, the Transponder may return to its sleepmode cycle (i.e., sleeping for 1 sec. and awaking-up for 10 msec. tolisten and take sensor readings). Any subsequent detections of theInterrogator's presence signal by the Transponder may be ignored by aTransponder that has already responded and has received confirmationthat its response has been received. The time interval for which thesubsequent detections of the Interrogator's presence signal may beignored (by a Transponder that has responded and has receivedconfirmation) may be a priori determined and stored within theTransponder, may be chosen by the Transponder, or may be dictated by theInterrogator's interrogation message. The Interrogator's presence signalmay be a direct-sequence-spread and/or frequency-hopping waveform (oreven a simple CW) whose parameter values are a priori known to theTransponder. Thus, each time the Transponder wakes-up, acquisition ofthe Interrogator's presence signal is attempted. If the presence signalis acquired, the Transponder remains awake in order to receive andprocess an Interrogation.

To reduce or minimize the probability of Transponder response collisions(particularly in areas where there may be a large ensemble ofcontainer/transportable vehicle units equipped with Transponders) theInterrogator may selectively command (via the interrogation message) asubset of the ensemble of container/transportable vehicle unitTransponders to respond. Thus, sequentially, subset-by-subset, theentire ensemble of Transponders may be interrogated to respond.

An ensemble of container/transportable vehicle units that may been-route (on a barge, railroad cart, airplane, or a truck) may also besubject to the same interrogation process described above. In this case,however, a special purpose Interrogator device may be used. The specialpurpose Interrogator device may be permanently installed on the barge,railroad cart, airplane, or truck. The special purpose Interrogatordevice may contain an Interrogator (as specified above) in conjunctionwith a Transponder. The Interrogator component of the special purposeInterrogator device may be configured to interrogate the ensemble ofcontainer/transportable vehicle units, as described earlier, and thusgather a summary of their state. This summary may then be relayed to theTransponder component of the special purpose Interrogator device. Thus,as the barge, railroad cart, airplane, or truck that is transporting theensemble of container/transportable vehicle units passes by anInterrogator (of the type that has been described for usage on the sideof roads and/or highways) information reflecting the state of thecontainer/transportable vehicle units ensemble that is en-route may berelayed to a CVIS CPU. The ability to interrogate and ascertain thestate of the container/transportable vehicle units ensemble, as ittravels from a point of origin to a point of destination, may offersignificant Home Land Security benefits.

10.2 Activation/De-Activation of CVIS

In some embodiments of the invention, every vehicle may be CVIS equipped(may have a built-in Transponder). However, in other embodiments, notevery vehicle's Transponder may be activated. A vehicle's Transpondermay be activated voluntarily by the owner of the vehicle or, in theevent that it isn't, a vehicle's Transponder may be activated by aGovernment authority. For example, an automobile insurance company mayoffer an insurance premium discount with CVIS activation of a vehicle.Thus, some people may choose to have their vehicles CVIS activated. Avehicle that is not CVIS activated and is involved in a number ofaccidents/traffic violations, may be ordered by the authorities tobecome CVIS activated.

CVIS may be activated in a vehicle in response to an interrogationmessage. In some embodiments, the Transponder of a vehicle that is notCVIS activated continues to receive interrogations, it simply does notrespond. As such, the vehicle's Transponder may receive an interrogationspecifying the vehicle's unique ID and ordering the vehicle to becomeCVIS active. Thus, from that time on, the Transponder of the vehiclewill configure itself in a CVIS active mode and will begin responding tointerrogations. This covert mode of CVIS activation may be used by theauthorities where there is probable cause (as is the case with legalwire-tapping) to gather information on suspect behavior. A vehicle thathas been CVIS activated by the above technique may become CVISde-activated in response to an interrogation ordering the vehicle'sTransponder back into a CVIS dormant mode.

10.3 Anti-Spoofing Embodiments of CVIS

A jamming device may be used in the vicinity of a CVIS Transponder toprevent the Transponder from deciphering interrogations and/ornotifications and thus prevent the Transponder from ever responding tointerrogations. The jamming device may be configured to jam the entireband over which the Transponder is configured to receive informationfrom Interrogators and/or Notificators. In order to defeat this threat,the following embodiment may be used:

Since a Transponder knows the frequency that its receiver is tuned to,the Transponder's transmitter may be tuned to the same frequency totransmit an a priori known (to the Transponder receiver) message. Inthis mode, the transmitter of the Transponder may use a radiatingelement that is sufficiently apart (spatially) from the Transponder'sreceiving antenna element (one antenna element may be situated near thefront of the vehicle while the other may be positioned near the rear ofthe vehicle). If the a priori known message that is transmitted by theTransponder's transmitter is not received reliably by the Transponder'sreceiver (while all other Transponder diagnostics are showing nomalfunction) a warning signal/message/alarm may instruct the vehicle'soperator to disable the jamming device. If the effect of the jammingdevice persists for more than a predetermined time interval (followingthe warning signal/message/alarm) then the vehicle's engine may, forexample, stop.

In other embodiments, given the relatively low-cost nature of theTransponder, large-scale redundancy may be provided. Each vehicle maycontain a plurality of Transponders, all networked together wirelessly(or otherwise) so that if one fails, the next can provide the necessaryfunctions. The plurality of Transponder chip-sets may be situated indifferent areas of a vehicle so as to make it difficult to identify anddisable. Transponder chip-sets may also be integrated with otherelectronic functions of a vehicle such that the Transponder assumes anamorphous (or distributed) nature, thus making it difficult for someoneto identify, isolate, and disable, without also causing harm to othervehicular electronics.

10.4 Integration of GPS Signal-Processing & Satellite/TerrestrialTransceiver Units with the CVIS Transponder

A vehicle may be equipped with GPS signal processing means and with asatellite/terrestrial transceiver capable of communicating directly witha CVIS CPU. Thus, a vehicle may attain a measure of its position fromGPS signal processing. Furthermore, a vehicle may be interrogated via aterrestrial wireless system (cellular, PCS, or other) or via a satellitesystem. In response to such an interrogation, the vehicle may ascertaina measure of its position from processing of GPS signals and may relaydirectly to a CPU, via the satellite/terrestrial transceiver unit,information responsive to the interrogation.

10.5 Use of CVIS by Emergency Vehicles to Control Traffic Signals

Fire trucks, Police vehicles, ambulances, and other authorized vehiclesmay be equipped with Transponders capable of controlling the trafficsignals at intersections along their path. A Transponder of anauthorized vehicle may receive, from an Approaching Traffic Light SetNotificator, information regarding an approaching Traffic Light Set. TheTransponder of the authorized vehicle may then use this information tocommand the Traffic Light Set in its path to turn green while all otherTraffic Light Sets that may exist at the same intersection are commandedto turn red. This embodiment of CVIS may provide significant additionalsafety to motorists, passengers of vehicles, and pedestrians that may bein the vicinity of an emergency vehicle while the emergency vehicle ispursuing its objective at high speed. A hearing impaired person, forexample, who may not hear the sirens of an approaching emergencyvehicle, may respond to the altered state of traffic signals. Similarly,a vehicle packed with teenagers, with their stereo blasting away atmaximum setting, may not hear the sirens of an approaching emergencyvehicle but may respond to the altered state of traffic signals.

10.6 Black Box Recorder Device

A black box recorder device installed in a motor vehicle may offervaluable data that may otherwise be unavailable forresolving/understanding a sequence of events leading up to an accidentand/or other occurrence. Accordingly, in some embodiments relating toinventive concepts that will now be described, a black box recorderdevice may be installed in a motor vehicle to record and/or store video,audio and/or other data. According to some embodiments, said video,audio and/or other data may be stored/accumulated so that ahistory/record thereof, relating to a time interval/span that may bepredetermined and/or adaptively arrived at, is maintained. The video,audio and/or other data may, according to some embodiments, may includea plurality of components/dimensions wherein, for example, a firstcomponent/dimension of the plurality of components/dimensions relates tovideo, audio and/or other data with a focus on (and/or a primaryassociation with) a back/rear of the motor vehicle; a secondcomponent/dimension of the plurality of components/dimensions thatrelates to video, audio and/or other data with a focus on (and/or aprimary association with) a front of the motor vehicle; and a thirdcomponent/dimension of the plurality of components/dimensions thatrelates to video, audio and/or other data with a focus on (and/or aprimary association with) a side (left and/or right) of the motorvehicle. It will be understood that other components/dimensions of theplurality of components/dimensions may include a focus on (and/or aprimary association with), for example, a top, bottom and/or interior ofthe motor vehicle. It will further be understood that said video, audioand/or other data may, according to some embodiments, comprise/includeinfrared data, ultrasonic data, ultraviolet data and/or electromagneticdata that may include spectrum outside of a visible spectrum, etc.

According to some embodiments, the black box recorder may be configuredto record each one of the components/dimensions of the plurality ofcomponents/dimensions separately and/or independently from one another.Accordingly, in some embodiments, video and/or audio of eachcomponent/dimension of the plurality of components/dimensions (and/ordata/parameters other than video and/or audio that may be associatedtherewith) may be recorded, accumulated and/or maintained over alimited/finite time interval/span, whose duration may be predeterminedand/or adaptively arrived at. According to some embodiments, said timeinterval/span may be updated/modified, in span/duration, start-pointand/or end-point (by, for example, writing over or recording over dataassociated with a previous time interval/span, at least partially), inorder to provide a most recent time interval/span and recording of dataassociated therewith just prior to an event, during the event and/orfollowing the event. Said event may be an accident, a deployment of anair bag, an acceleration/deceleration, a velocity, a position, anelectromagnetic radiation, a sound (humanly audible and/or otherwise)and/or sequence of occurrences leading up to said event including butnot limited to a biological state and/or a biometric identifier of anoccupant of the motor vehicle. In some embodiments, a parameterassociated with said time interval/span and/or said data associatedtherewith, may depend upon and/or be responsive to a velocity, anacceleration/deceleration, a position, an electromagnetic radiationand/or an intensity associated therewith, a sound and/or an intensityassociated therewith, a biological state of an occupant of the motorvehicle, a biometric identifier of an occupant of the motor vehicleand/or a predetermined sequence of events that may require furtherdetail. Said parameter may include, but not limited to, saidspan/duration, start-point, and/or end-point of said time interval/span,a bandwidth used to acquire/record data and/or a sampling rate used toacquire/record data.

It will be understood that a first time interval/span associated with afirst component/dimension of the plurality of components/dimensions maydiffer from a second time interval/span associated with a secondcomponent/dimension of the plurality of components/dimensions and thateven within a given component/dimension of the plurality ofcomponents/dimensions, first and second parameters thereof may comprisediffering time intervals/spans associated therewith. It will also beunderstood that a given time span may be predetermined, according tosome embodiments; whereas according to other embodiments, the given timespan may be adaptively determined, variable and/or remotelyset/established. Further, it will be understood that anature/characteristic of first and second data that is acquired and/orrecorded from respective first and a second components/dimensions of theplurality of components/dimensions may differ therebetween in that, forexample, the first data may be video data whereas the second data mayaudio data.

In some embodiments, a black box recorder device (or a componentthereof) may be included in a motor vehicle, whereas according to otherembodiments, the black box recorder device (or the component thereof)may be situated at a distance from the motor vehicle, at leastpartially. For example, the motor vehicle and/or variouscomponents/sensors thereof may be wirelessly connected (using, forexample, a 4G LTE standard/protocol and/or any other wirelessstandard/protocol) to a facility that is distant from the motor vehicleand information may thus be relayed from/to the motor vehicle and thefacility. In some embodiments, the facility may comprise memory that maybe, used to store data associated with one or more of saidcomponents/dimensions of said plurality of components/dimensionsassociated with one or more motor vehicles. Thus, in some embodiments, adata base may be established remotely from the motor vehicle; whereinthe data base may be wirelessly connected to the motor vehicle and maybe used to store data associated with the motor vehicle. For example,the remote data base may be included in the CPU (or may comprise theCPU) that is illustrated, for example, in FIG. 1 and/or FIG. 10 herein,and described in paragraphs associated therewith.

According to further embodiments, storing data associated with said oneor more components/dimensions of the motor vehicle (at the facilityand/or at the motor vehicle) may be triggered by (e.g., may beresponsive to), receiving at the motor vehicle an interrogation, aconfirmation and/or a notification that triggers a subsystem of themotor vehicle (such as, for example, a transponder of the motor vehicle)to transmit a signal, as previously discussed herein. It will beunderstood that, according to some embodiments, such a trigger (e.g.,responsiveness) may further depend upon an accident, a deployment of anair bag, an acceleration/deceleration, a velocity, a position, anelectromagnetic radiation and/or an intensity associated therewith, asound and/or an intensity associated therewith, a biological state of anoccupant of the motor vehicle, a biometric identifier of an occupant ofthe motor vehicle and/or a predetermined sequence of events thatrequires further detail. Said storing data associated with said one ormore components/dimensions of the motor vehicle (at the facility and/orat the motor vehicle) may be a permanent storing of data that may beerasable only by an authority such as, for example, an insurancecompany, a police unit, a legal unit, etc.

10.7 Disabling Smartphone Functions for Safety Reasons

Traveling in a motor vehicle (“MV”) while using, by a driver of themotor vehicle, a mobile device (“MD”), such as, for example, asmartphone (“SP”), to receive/transmit data (e.g., to receive/transmit atext, an e-mail, etc.) has proven dangerous and often lethal owing tothe driver's distraction by such an activity. Accordingly, in additionalembodiments of inventive concepts that will now be described, followingignition of the MV (i.e., following turning on the engine of the MV) theMV may be configured to radiate a specific predetermined signal (“SPS”),at a relatively low power level, in accordance with some embodiments.Further, the MD, such as the SP, may be configured to periodically lookfor the SPS. Responsive to the SPS having been detected by the MD, theMD may be configured to disable one or more functions thereof such as,for example, receiving/sending a text message and/or receiving/sendingan e-mail; wherein, according to some embodiments, at least one functionof the MD remains enabled (e.g., a voice communications function mayremain enabled and/or a voice recognition function) even though the MDhas detected the SPS. In other embodiments, responsive to the detectionof the SPS by the MD, all functions of the MD may be disabled includingsensory notifications such as, for example, vibrational, visual and/oraudio, as well as communications via voice, texting and/or e-mail, etc.

In some embodiments the SPS associated with, and emitted by, a specificMV comprises a specific identification code (“SIC”) that may be knownonly by an owner of the MV and/or by other entities/persons, asapproved/authorized by the owner.

Accordingly, for example, the SIC associated with the SPS of my MV wouldbe known by me (and my MD) and, per my wishes, by my wife (and her MD)and by my son (and his MD). Thus, if I were to enter my MV, followingignition thereof my MD (assuming I had it with me) woulddetect/recognize the SPS of my MV and, responsive to such adetection/recognition, my MD would disable certain function(s) thereofsuch as, for example, receiving/sending a text message and/or an e-mail;whereas, according to some embodiments, at least one function thereof(e.g., a voice communications/recognition function) remains enabled eventhough my MD has detected the SPS. In other embodiments, all functionsof my MD may be disabled responsive to the detection by my MD of theSPS. Similar conclusions may be drawn relative to the MD of my wife orthat of my son entering my MV.

If I were to enter my MV together with my wife and my son, and each oneof us were carrying our respective MDs, then all three MDs would detectthe SPS of my MV. At that point, according to some embodiments, each oneof the MDs would request a response by providing a question such as, forexample: Are you driving? Only upon receiving a negative response tosuch question (e.g., No, I'm not driving) may the associated MD continueto function in that one or more functions thereof remain enabled. If anMD (of the three MDs) does not receive a response to said questionwithin a predetermined time interval following presentation of saidquestion (or the MD receives an affirmative response within saidpredetermined time interval) then that MD disables one or more functionsthereof such as, for example, receiving/sending a text message and/or ane-mail; whereas other functions thereof, such as, for example voicecommunications and/or a voice recognition function, may continue to beenabled. Upon disabling one or more of its functions, the MD involved inthe disabling may transfer/delegate/handover at least one, and accordingto some embodiments all, of the disabled function(s) to another MD thatis proximate thereto (i.e., is in my MV in the above example) and hasresponded negatively to the question.

It will be understood that, in some embodiments, a plurality of MDs(e.g., mine, my wife's and my son's in the above example) may beconfigured to communicate therebetween responsive to detecting the SPSand/or responsive to detecting one or more other parameter(s), such as,for example, a velocity, acceleration, a velocity in one direction and alack thereof in another direction, an acceleration in one direction anda lack thereof in another direction, and/or responsive to at least oneof the MDs having disabled at least one function thereof. Suchcommunications between MDs may, in some embodiments, be enabled viashort-range link(s) such as, for example, Bluetooth link(s), via a basestation tower and/or via an access point that may be in (or proximateto) the MV. Responsive to such communications, an MD involved in saiddisabling of one or more of its functions may automatically transfer,delegate and/or handover at least one of said disabled one or morefunctions to at least one other MD that is proximate thereto.Furthermore, responsive to such communications, at least one MD of aplurality of MDs that are proximate therebetween must have beendesignated as a MD associated with a driver of the MV. Otherwise, somecorrective action may be necessary, according to further embodiments.Such corrective action may be an audible/vibrational/visual signal (thatmay be intentionally loud/annoying) being provided by at least one MD ofsaid MDs and, in some embodiments, by each one of the MDs of said MDs.Other corrective actions, in lieu of the above or in conjunction withthe above, may be imposing a limit on a speed and/or acceleration thatthe MV may achieve and/or imposing an audible/visual indication on theMV that is indicative of danger. Such an audible/visual indication maybe the MV horn blowing and/or the MV lights flashing, for example. Saidother corrective actions may be based upon an ability of at least one MDof said MDs to connect and communicate with a system of the MV; whereinsaid connect and communicate comprises wirelessly connect andcommunicate.

It will be understood that the example discussed above regarding myself,my wife and/or my son, entering my MV (alone/separately or otherwise),is presented for illustrative purposes only in order to convey inventiveconcepts associated therewith, and not for any limiting purpose(s). Itwill be understood that said example may be applicable/relevant to anythree persons and their MDs, besides (or including) myself, my wifeand/or my son, and that the example may be extended to more than three(or less than three) persons. Further, it will be understood that,according to some embodiments, the SPS may be devoid of an SIC that maybe unique to a MV such as, for example, my MV as discussed earlier. Inaccordance with some embodiments, a MV may be configured to radiate aSPS that is devoid of an SIC that is unique to any particular MV. Such aSPS may include a predetermined signature which may be used by any MD torecognize/detect the SPS; wherein the signature may, for example, be acode/pattern, a modulation format, a sequence of bits/symbols, etc.associated with the SPS. In other embodiments, the SPS may comprise saidsignature as well as a SIC.

In the event a MD detects a SPS that is known/determined/predetermined(by the MD and/or a system with which the MD communicates) to beassociated with a public transportation vehicle (e.g., a bus, train,airplane, sea vessel, etc.), the MD that detects such a SPS may beconfigured, according to some embodiments, to function normally wherebyall functions of the MD, such as, notifications, voice, texting, e-mail,etc., remain active/enabled. In other embodiments, some (but not all) ofsaid functions may become inactive/disabled responsive to detection bythe MD of such SPS that is known/determined/predetermined to beassociated with a public transportation vehicle. For example, a voicefunction of the MD may become inactive/disabled while texting, e-mailand/or other functions remain active/enabled.

10.8 Environmental Cognition

According to yet additional embodiments of inventive concepts, a MV mayinclude a transceiver that may be configured to communicate with a basestation using, for example, a 4G LTE protocol and/or any other protocol.Accordingly, a plurality of MVs that are within a service area of thebase station may be capable of receiving and/or transmitting informationfrom/to said base station; wherein said receiving and/or transmittinginformation includes, according to some embodiments, positioninformation. In some embodiments, said receiving and/or transmitting maybe responsive to an occurrence of an event such as, for example, anaccident. In some embodiments, a MV of said plurality of MVs that isinvolved in an accident transmits information to the base stationrelating to the accident. Such information that is transmitted to thebase station by the MV involved in the accident may, according to someembodiments, include position information associated with the MVinvolved in the accident and/or other data/information associatedtherewith. Other MVs of said plurality of MVs may, responsive to thebase station having received information from the MV involved in theaccident, be requested by the base station to provide to the basestation their respective locations.

Accordingly, the base station (and/or other system connected thereto)may include a processor that is configured to compare the location ofthe MV involved in the accident with locations associated with other MVsof the plurality of MVs, identify a subset of MVs of the plurality ofMVs that is within a predetermined distance of the MV involved in theaccident and transmit to said subset of MVs information associated withthe accident including location information, data associated with aseverity of the accident, alternate routing data and/or any otherinformation associated with the accident that may be deemed appropriate.It will be understood that the base station and/or said other systemconnected thereto, in lieu of sending information to said subset of MVsor in conjunction therewith, may be configured to send informationassociated with the accident to police and/or other first responderauthority such as, for example, medical, fire and/or anotherentity/person(s) that is/are authorized and predetermined by an owner ofthe MV involved in the accident to receive information associated withthe accident.

Specific embodiments of inventive concepts have been described herein.These inventive concepts may, however, be embodied in many differentforms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments setforth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that thisdisclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey thescope of the inventive concepts to those skilled in the art. It will beunderstood that any two or more embodiments of the present inventiveconcepts as presented herein may be combined in whole or in part to formone or more additional embodiments.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to herein asbeing “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directlyconnected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may bepresent. Furthermore, “connected” or “coupled” as used herein mayinclude wirelessly connected or coupled.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the inventiveconcepts. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” areintended to include the plural forms as well, unless expressly statedotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “includes,”“comprises,” “including” and/or “comprising,” and variants thereof, whenused in this specification, specify the presence of stated features,steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations,elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which these inventive concepts belong.It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined incommonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaningthat is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant artand the present disclosure, and will not be interpreted in an idealizedor overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

It will be understood that although terms such as first and second areused herein to describe various elements and/or signals, theseelements/signals should not be limited by these terms. These terms areonly used to distinguish one element/signal from another element/signal.Thus, a first element/signal could be termed a second element/signal,and a second element/signal may be termed a first element/signal withoutdeparting from the teachings of the present inventive concepts.

As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations ofone or more of the associated listed items. The symbol “I” is also usedas a shorthand notation for “and/or”.

The term(s) “transmitter,” “receiver,” “transceiver,” “mobile device”and/or “smartphone,” as may be used herein, include(s)cellular/terrestrial/satellite terminals, laptop computers, palmtopcomputers, pads/tablets and/or any device/system with or without amulti-line display that comprises a wireless communications capabilityand may be configured to provide functions including, but not limitedto, voice/data communications, voice recognition, touch screenprocessing, data processing, paging, Internet/Intranet access, Webbrowsing, position determination and/or Global Positioning System (GPS)signal processing. The term(s) “transmitter,” “receiver,” “transceiver,”“mobile device” and/or “smartphone,” as used herein, also include(s) anywireless communications device comprising time-varying and/or fixedgeographic coordinates and may be portable, transportable and/orinstalled in a vehicle (aeronautical/space-based, maritime, and/orland-based) and may be configured to operate locally and/or in adistributed fashion on a planet and/or space.

The present inventive concepts have been described with reference tofigure(s), block diagram(s) and/or flowchart illustration(s) of methods,apparatus (systems) and/or computer program products according toembodiments of the inventive concepts. It is understood that a block ofthe block diagram(s) and/or flowchart illustration(s), and combinationsof blocks in the block diagram(s) and/or flowchart illustration(s), canbe implemented by computer program instructions. These computer programinstructions may be provided to a processor of a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, and/or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions,which execute via the processor of the computer and/or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus, create means (functionality)and/or structure for implementing the functions/acts specified in thefigure(s), block diagram(s) and/or flowchart block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the figure(s), block diagram(s)and/or flowchart block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe figure(s), block diagram(s) and/or flowchart block or blocks.

Accordingly, the present inventive concepts may be embodied in hardwareand/or in software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code,etc.). Furthermore, the present inventive concepts may take the form ofa computer program product on a computer-usable or computer-readablestorage medium having computer-usable or computer-readable program codeembodied in the medium for use by or in connection with an instructionexecution system. In the context of this document, a computer-usable orcomputer-readable medium may be any medium that can contain, store,communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or inconnection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

It should also be noted that in some alternate implementations, thefunctions/acts noted in the blocks of the block diagram(s)/flowchart(s)and/or figure(s) may occur out of the order noted in the blockdiagram(s)/flowchart(s) and/or figure(s). For example, two blocks shownin succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or theblocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending uponthe functionality/acts involved. Moreover, the functionality of a givenblock of the flowchart(s)/block diagram(s) and/or figure(s) may beseparated into multiple blocks and/or the functionality of two or moreblocks of the flowchart(s)/block diagram(s) and/or figure(s) may be atleast partially integrated therebetween.

Many different embodiments, besides those described herein, are possiblein connection with the above description, drawing(s) and document(s)that have been incorporated herein, by reference, as will be appreciatedby those skilled in the art. It would be unduly repetitious andobfuscating to describe/illustrate every combination and sub-combinationof these embodiments. Accordingly, the present specification, includingthe drawings, claims and any cited Application(s) that are assigned tothe present Assignee, EICES Research, Inc., and are incorporated hereinby reference in their entirety as if fully set forth herein, shall beconstrued to constitute a complete written description of allcombinations and sub-combinations of the embodiments described herein,and of the manner and process of making and using them, and shallsupport claims to any such combination and/or subcombination.

It will be understood that any of the embodiments described herein (orany element/portion of any embodiment described herein) may be combinedwith any other embodiment described herein (or element/portion thereof)to provide yet another embodiment. The number of different embodimentsthat are provided by the present inventive concepts are too numerous tolist and describe individually and in whole. Those skilled in the artwill appreciate that any of the embodiments described herein (or anyelement/portion of any embodiment that is described herein) may becombined with any other embodiment that is described herein (orelement/portion thereof) to provide yet another embodiment.

In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed embodimentsof the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they areused in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A communications method comprising: configuringan entity to wirelessly communicate with a first device usingfrequencies of a cellular frequency band; configuring the entity towirelessly communicate with a second device using frequencies of anunlicensed frequency band; configuring the entity to wirelessly receiveinformation from the first device using frequencies of the cellularfrequency band and to wirelessly relay the information that the entityreceives from the first device to the second device by using frequenciesof the unlicensed frequency band; and configuring the entity towirelessly receive information from the second device over frequenciesof the unlicensed frequency band and to wirelessly relay the informationthat the entity receives from the second device to the first deviceusing frequencies of the cellular frequency band; wherein the entity istransportable and/or mobile; and wherein said configuring the entity towirelessly communicate with a second device using frequencies of anunlicensed frequency band comprises: wirelessly receiving an activationmessage at the entity from the first device; and configuring the entityto begin to wirelessly communicate with the second device usingfrequencies of the unlicensed frequency band responsive to saidwirelessly receiving an activation message at the entity from the firstdevice.
 2. A transceiver comprising a system that is configured to:wirelessly communicate with a first device using frequencies of acellular frequency band; wirelessly communicate with a second deviceusing frequencies of an unlicensed frequency band; wirelessly receiveinformation from the first device over frequencies of the cellularfrequency band and wirelessly relay the information that is receivedfrom the first device to the second device using frequencies of theunlicensed frequency band; and wirelessly receive information from thesecond device over frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band andwirelessly relay the information that is received from the second deviceto the first device using frequencies of the cellular frequency band;wherein the transceiver is transportable and/or mobile; and wherein thesystem is further configured to begin to wirelessly communicate with thesecond device using frequencies of the unlicensed frequency bandresponsive to having received an activation message from the firstdevice.